See It Differently | Larry Brey | Elevation Church

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,

How it was applied: The pastor uses this passage to establish that Paul's letter to the Philippians is uniquely a thank-you note, not a letter of correction. The word 'joy' appearing here from inside a prison cell becomes the launching point for the sermon's central argument: Paul's joy is not circumstantial but chosen, and it recurs 16 times across the letter's 104 verses.

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon. But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.

How it was applied: This broad passage anchors the sermon's treatment of partnership with the Holy Spirit (v.1), the mind of Christ (vv.5-11), and the Epaphroditus story (vv.25-28). The pastor uses the apparent contradiction between Paul's call to 'not be anxious' (ch. 4) and his admission of anxiety over Epaphroditus (2:28) to argue that there is a legitimate, others-focused anxiety that believers are called to carry.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.

How it was applied: The pastor interprets Paul's 'forgetting what is behind' as applying to both failures (trash) and achievements (trophies), challenging listeners to identify whatever 'it' — whether past shame or present ambition — is slowing their pursuit of Christ. The subsequent verses on enemies of the cross (3:18-19) are applied internally to professing Christians who have made the Holy Spirit a silent partner.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

How it was applied: Rather than reading this as a simple command to stop worrying, the pastor contrasts the Greek behind 'do not be anxious' (self-focused worry) with the word used in 2:28 (concern for others), arguing that Paul is not dismissing anxiety but redirecting it. The call to think on whatever is true and noble (4:8-9) is framed as the practical discipline of cultivating the mind of the Spirit.

Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need.

How it was applied: The pastor uses this passage to establish that the Philippians were Paul's only financial partners among all his church plants, making them uniquely his 'favorites.' This extravagant generosity is held up as evidence that they saw things differently — they translated feeling into action when no one else did.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

How it was applied: Referenced to reinforce the sermon's call to renew the mind, the pastor uses this verse to argue that ingrained patterns of self-focused thinking require intentional, repeated practice to overcome — likening an unrenewed mind to an outdated operating system that cannot run new software.

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

How it was applied: Used to counter the cultural idol of self-care, the pastor cites Jesus's call to daily self-denial as evidence that the New Testament's prescription for human flourishing runs opposite to the world's. Self-care without self-denial, he argues, becomes self-worship.